A delicious episode where we discuss 2022's The Menu, directed by Mark Mylod. Topics covered include:
Heads up: there is one swear word in this... but Tyler deserves it.
A delicious episode where we discuss 2022's The Menu, directed by Mark Mylod. Topics covered include:
Heads up: there is one swear word in this... but Tyler deserves it.
Okay, why are we whispering?
Ethan & Sage:Okay, I can edit this out. It's okay. I definitely will not put this at the beginning or end of the Oh, yeah, no, for sure. Okay. I would be horrified if you did that. I think I'd fire you.
Ethan:Okay, just cut my salary. Okay, okay. Yeah, well, you can cut it in half. What do divided by zero still zero? Yeah. Okay
Sage:Hello and welcome to episode 12 of the teen horror podcast where we watch and discuss horror movies from a teens perspective. I'm your host sage, and I'm joined by my co host and unpaid intern, my dad. Hello, everybody. This week we watched mark my Lords doesn't want me to film the menu written by Seth rice. And well, Tracy, before we get started with our discussion of the film, we're gonna do a little section that we call backstory, where we discussed what we have been doing this week since the last episode. And this might include things that we've been watching things we've done things that have happened to us birthdays that have passed, etc. So take it away, sage, what's been going on with you? I turned 16 was a big moment. Yeah. For me to move person. Yeah. And it's been almost exactly two years since the first episode came out. So that's cool. Yay. It feels like long time insert clapping sound effect. Do we have? I don't know. That was Yeah. Yeah. So I turned 16. And we also saw Megan in theaters. Yeah, that was fun. It was. I don't know if it was review worthy, but it was definitely like, I'm all for creepy scary living dolls that are murderous. That was and it was funny, because it's, uh, you know, it's all about like, AI. Yeah.
Ethan:And the evils of it, perhaps? Yes. So yeah, definitely. Very appropriate. I actually, they must have had that movie in production. Way before the chat GPT and all that stuff came? Yeah. But it was just perfectly right. Like that's that's what they mean when you know when you say like the word Zeitgeist like this, like cultural moment. That's really what it Yeah, right. Like that's they really tapped into it. You like, whoever wrote that or greenlit it? They were like, Yeah, this is coming. So, but hey, wait for your birthday. As your co host. Of course. I have no knowledge of this. But what what amazing horror themed accessories did you get? I got among other things.
Sage:A little enamel pin. That is the pattern of the shining carpet. Yeah, it's been the movie. Yeah. a postage stamp sized, I guess. Like large stamp. It's, it's nice. I got a sticker from alien and also like a patch. Yeah. From alien from the Nostromo. Part of the mystery. Yeah. Which is really cool. And definitely movie that I think we should review. It seems like one that we already would have. But I know I keep thinking that we've recorded that we haven't had an alien and we haven't. And we're gonna get to some listener requests in a moment. And that's definitely one of them. Yeah, so yeah, so those pins we got that from last exit to nowhere. Yeah, we do not have a commercial relationship with but we would welcome sponsors. Yeah. So um, and I also got a hoodie from last exit to nowhere. Yeah, but that wasn't for a horror film. No, it was for Fight Club. Last I don't know where it was. They were over represented in your in your gifts. This? Yeah, I'm not complaining. We also were we have been watching poker face. That's right. The TV show by Ryan Johnson. Yeah. With Natasha Leon. She's really funny. Just the way she moves and like, yeah, like with her body and like your body so
Ethan:face her eyes. Like she's just kind of hypnotic to watch and not because she's like, She's a model or former model and but her physicality is not she's not what you would expect if you said, oh, yeah, there's a woman who used to be a model in the show. She's first of all, she's a talent. She's really a doctor. But second of all, like, she kinda like, has a weird kind of like hunched. Yeah, yeah. That she is she's like walking around. It's like she's channeling like, some sort of like, ad.
Sage:Funny. I really like. It's yeah, she makes the show really funny. Yeah,
Ethan:she's the Russian doll. You could watch Russian doll. Yeah. And you're old enough for that. What else? What do you what are you reading? You're reading any good books.
Sage:I have been reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series for a long time. That's right. And I'm on the fifth one. Right now wolves at the gala. They there was a mention of the Marston house. Yeah. And I recognized that from when And I started to read Salem's Lot. Yeah. And then didn't finish it. Why didn't
Ethan:you finish? By the way? Was it just not interesting? Sorry.
Sage:It was just, I think at the time I was like 12 or 13.
Ethan:Again, which is your co host. I have no inside information about this, but I can't believe your parents let you read sales.
Sage:No, no, I mean, I think I wanted to get through but it was just such a like big book. And also it's one of his earlier books. And so there's so much description in it. So many little like off shooting details that maybe don't really well, there were a lot in Dark Tower series. Yeah. Yeah, it was a big book. But so I think I just stopped because it was like, I mean, you read it. You finished all did, which was kind of a yeah, they could accomplish. I'm very proud of that. Because, remember, is
Ethan:that his biggest book, or is it
Sage:I don't I think I think the stand is bigger. But yeah, I finished it when I was like 13. But when I read the Marston house in most of the callate, because he references a lot of other books in the careers I was like, Okay, I have two resumes on I think that was like a little push I needed. So I started from the beginning. I'm almost at the end now. It's really great. When I read books, I switch off listening to the audiobook of it and reading it just depending on what I'm doing where I am, and the audiobook. It's like the only audio book I've ever listened to the only book I've ever read that legitimately scares me like at night, sometimes I'll be like doing stuff, like just getting ready for better swing listening to it. And I have to stop and just kind of stand there and maybe jump
Ethan:a couple of times, because you've been listening. And I've come up behind you and you're like, oh, yeah, no, it's scary. Also the time that I hovered outside your window.
Sage:Yeah, that was good to know. But like, you can tell like he really he was like, I'm gonna write a vampire story. And he just like, put everything into it. Yeah, it's, it's amazing. I really liked I really
Ethan:liked Salem's Lot as a book. You're reading it in paperback form with one of the good covers. Yeah, no, I have maybe the original cover, I think,
Sage:yeah, I have very strong criteria. For my Stephen King votes. I much prefer used copies and copies that are with the publisher like Signet, I don't know why. But every book, I've found, like every Stephen King book, I found what that publisher has, it's really old, paperback, great cover. Just, it feels different. You know, you know, a lot of the new more like modern covers, or printings of his books, just the covers are not that great.
Ethan:So you should actually I don't think you've looked at this, maybe skimmed it or something, but you should look at it again. If so. I have a book upstairs called because we're downstairs inside of our sprawling recording complex. Yeah, right. Yeah. But I have a book upstairs, which is called paperbacks from hell. And it's by Grady Hendrix, who wrote the final girl support group, and a bunch of other amazing horror stories. But he did a whole like, it was such a labor of love. Like he went back and looked at all these books from like the 70s and 80s. All these horror paperbacks that were just like, Absolutely, like ghoulish and garish covers, right? In all paintings, you know, they're all like, it's not digital art. It's all paintings. It's not like, super Photoshop, you know, like, oh, let's go take a picture of a house and then distort it and make it look, you know, like, there's so much of that, like, I just, you know, I can't stand the new the modern crop of the Stephen King covers. They're just so generic,
Sage:like a photo. It's like a random, like, unsettling photo with a grainy like, filter. Oh,
Ethan:yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of No, it's right. You look back at the 80s. And you're just like, like, half the time. I remember thinking like, I don't know if the artist even read the horror story, or like what the brief was, because sometimes it wouldn't really match up. Not I'm not even kidding. But just like, yeah, it was the same with sci fi back then. You know, like, so often, you would get like, some sci fi book, and it was like, this is the coolest painting on the cover. And then has nothing to do with anything. Yes.
Sage:Yeah, it's funny that way. Like, it's still it looks really like, I will say like, you know, when people say like, don't judge a book by its cover, like, Oh, no.
Ethan:You know, yeah.
Sage:I mean, they just, yeah, that's what the cover is for.
Ethan:So yes, we'd like good cover design. Bring back good covers, please. And if you're doing good covers, please continue to do so. Yeah, so we did let's see birthday. And we mentioned Megan, we mission Pokerface. We can see him a lot. Oh, I read a book with your brother, which is sort of a young adult horror story called cloud in a cornfield. That was super fun. So if you're looking for kind of it's very gory. I just want to warn you. So if you're looking for kind of a young adult, kind of teen fiction, or fiction climate cornfield was fun. And I think there's a sequel, which I have not read. So and other than that, let's see. Oh, I know what else we did. You drew A cool sticker.
Sage:Yeah, so I designed a little sticker design the first 18 orgas sticker. Yep. So it's like the first physical manifestation of like merch that we have. I'm very proud of it.
Ethan:merch. I like that merch. Yeah. Alright.
Sage:And if you would like, some stickers for free for free people Yep. Then you can click on the link in the show notes for this episode. Yeah. Or go to stickers dot teen horror cast.com
Ethan:That's right. Stickers dot teen horror cast.com right now now we'll wait.
Sage:If you can't find the link, email us at
Ethan:info at teen horror cast.com/
Sage:I'm very excited that we have, you know, like a physical thing. Yeah. And it. I love stickers. I love to put stickers on my laptop. And just like everywhere. And if you
Ethan:have since you were a small child, I have removed many stickers from like, the two foot height level on all of our doors. Yeah. There was a period that was like, Oh, look more butterfly stickers auto door. probably still some of this house. Oh, no. I
Sage:see. I see.
Ethan:I mean, in our recording studio. Oh, yes. Yeah, facility, the facility. But yeah,
Sage:so if you'd like stickers to then go get some. And we'll mail you some.
Ethan:Yeah. And we have mailed them out which you can be anywhere in the world. We've mailed them all over the place. We've mailed them to five continents so far. And we're happy to do that. We, we just love the fact that you all are listening to the show. We've really been happy with the success of it. And you know, we just wanted to I don't know, share some cool stuff.
Sage:Yeah, it makes it. I don't know, I feel like I don't say this a lot, like on the podcast, but it makes me really happy that there are like people out there. All around the world. Listen to my voice and thinking about what I have to say. Yeah. So thank you, everyone.
Ethan:Thank you. So write us and get your free March merch. When we put up that form to let people you know, submit their info to get free stickers. I didn't do this right away. But like after the first couple days, I was like, oh, we should you know put in a field for Do you have any ideas or comments or thoughts or whatever. And we got some great comments. And they were actually a lot of fun recommendations for movies to review. You want to read any of these are
Sage:sure, yeah. So first of all, thank you for everyone who has already requested stickers. And thank you for those who submitted requests for movies for us to do because some of these are really good ideas.
Ethan:Some of the things some of them are movies I've been saying that we should do for a long time.
Sage:Yeah, someone said maybe consider alien or Drag Me To Hell. Again. Alien. Yep. Zombie movies, which I have been thinking about. We have seen we saw in the
Ethan:theater, we saw a restored version of nine of the Living Dead. Yeah. Which was amazing. It was really cool to see that empathy. Yeah.
Sage:And we also seen Dawn of the Dead. I'm really glad that I got to see 90 Of The Living Dead in theaters. It was it was really cool.
Ethan:1930 shoes old dark house, there's a recommendation for what would be cool to see like a real classic. Yeah, yeah. Mexican horror film. Spanish Mexican,
Sage:vintage. TNM miedo.
Ethan:Even the winter's afraid, yeah. So please keep the recommendations coming. Yes. We really like those.
Sage:We do consider them and read them all. Yeah. So
Ethan:and I can guarantee that they're gonna have an impact on what we're reviewing it. Yeah.
Sage:So in conclusion, thank you to everyone who has liked our podcast enough to represent it.
Ethan:And please, if you have a moment, please leave a review online on Apple podcasts especially it really helps to because a lot of other podcasts clients use that as a source for ranking and promoting and surfacing podcasts. Yeah.
Sage:And it makes me so happy to read people's reviews. Like you have no idea like it. It makes me
Ethan:really happy. I would say it definitely has a positive mood impact for you. Yeah, so And when my daughter's happy I'm happy. Okay shall we go on to get into the meat of the meal? Yes. I mean, potatoes. Okay. You're getting the main core. Okay. I don't know. Maybe I did that subconsciously. I wasn't.
Sage:I thought you were like going. No, I
Ethan:should have prepared. I'll put I like it. Yeah. All right, let's do a little content warning then.
Sage:Yes. So first of all spoilers. I always say this every time, but with this movie, especially, we mean, yeah, spoilers are so important because yeah, you're really along for the ride with the rest of the characters in this one, you know, like some movies, you know what's happening from the beginning? Yeah, but this one, you're kind of with them when you're unsure of what's going on. And as it goes along, things are revealed to the viewer.
Ethan:I mean, this was, you know, if you take a movie like Halloween, you could spoil that movie for you. You'd still have a blast. Yes, still a fun ride. But this movie is really an onion that gets peeled in front of you, and
Sage:going out with the food.
Ethan:But you really don't want you want to start on the outside. Yeah,
Sage:it's it's, I would say it would be a different experience. Yeah, we already.
Ethan:We watched him more than once. And it was great both times. Yeah. Right. So also in terms of content, the horror in this one is largely psychological, but there is some implication of a father having molested his child as well as some gore and a depiction of suicide. So if any of that sounds off limits, feel free to catch up with us in the next episode. Yep, onto the summary. The movie opens with a couple on a pier waiting to be ferried out to a private island for dinner at an exclusive restaurant Tyler played by Nicholas Hoult seems dismissive and patronizing towards Margo, play by Anya Taylor joy.
Sage:As the guests clamor aboard the boat, we see that they represent a cross section of high society, including a Hollywood actor, an old money couple arrogant finance bros, and a food critic.
Ethan:The group of a dozen or so guests is offered a tour of the island by Elsa, played by Hong Chow, the restaurant manager. After a slightly unsettling tour, in which Elsa swings between being a perky tour guide, and a somewhat malicious, even disdainful presence, the guests are escorted into the restaurant itself, the gigantic front door swinging ominously shut behind them.
Sage:Until now, we've only known Chef slowik played by Ralph finds, through the Worshipful comments of Tyler a snobbish gastronorm as the first courses are served slowik shifts from an ominous presence only glimpse in the kitchen to a domineering martinet, commanding attention at the beginning of every course with a clap that echoes through the room like a gunshot.
Ethan:After a couple of high concept courses, the guests are served tacos with incriminating images of their pasts laser printed onto the tortillas, including evidence of embezzlement on the part of the finance bros. A Disappointing film The actor starred in and restaurants that closed in response to the critics reviews.
Sage:By the fourth course the tension is palpable and discomfort comes to a head when slowik introduces his Sous Chef Jeremy during the introduction slowik belittles Jeremy's ability tearing him down until in tears, Jeremy shoots himself in front of the horrified patrons.
Ethan:This is the turning point after which the course has become increasingly disturbing and bloody. A patrons fingers cut off by staff. The men are subjected to a mock hunt and each of these nightmares is presented as part of the menu
Sage:eventually realizing she is not truly a part of the high society crowd and is in fact a paid escort. slowik offers Margo autonomy over who she dies with the staff are the patrons. When she chooses to die with the staff he tasks or with fetching something from the smokehouse. On her way there she breaks into sloths house and finds a shortwave radio. She calls for help and returns quickly to the restaurant. a Coast Guard officer arrives responding to Margot's call, but the patrons last hope of being saved is dashed when it is revealed that he is one of flux just in disguise.
Ethan:Margo fed up with her opinions being dismissed all night, with being the odd one out among the arrogant, uber rich and with being served quasi intellectual courses from an egotistical, joyless chef finally stands up, turns around and claps. She tells slowik She's hungry, and requests a cheeseburger, the food that slowik first made as a humble fry cook. After savoring a single bite, she requests a TO GO Box slowik caught off guard and perhaps appeased gives it to her and Margo leaves the restaurant. She starts up a boat and motors out onto the water to eat her cheeseburger while watching the restaurant and everyone in it burn alive as part of the final flaming corpse, leaving her the sole survivor.
Sage:Okay, wow. So
Ethan:all right on to our discussion
Sage:so we were talking about this, but in regards to his relationship with the horror category
Ethan:Sure. A horror film actually, yeah, if not ended the podcast. Yeah, it was. Thanks for joining us.
Sage:Yeah, like you said, it's kind of more of like a dark social commentary, right? If anyone listening has seen parasite, I think this movie is horror in the same way that parasite is, like if you were to classify this movie as part of the horror genre, then you'd have to do the same with parasite. So
Ethan:yeah, I mean, parasite is kind of horror in, I guess a couple of ways. I and I don't know if it gets classified as war as a film. Yeah, I don't know. It's it's like social comedy. Yeah,
Sage:for sure. The things in both movies in the menu and in parasites. The things happening are horrific,
Ethan:or horrific. Yes. It's been on this one. There's definitely more blood gore. Yeah, yeah. So I think this one is a little bit closer. Now. I just want to say, though, that when I saw and I think they do this intentionally. But when I saw the trailer, I really felt like there was the implication that they were going to they were going to eat the rich. I don't know if you picked up like, if you felt like that was gonna happen or not. I don't know if I saw the trailer actually. Okay, so that that does not happen in this film. Right. Right. And I think it's a I mean, that would have been, that's sort of the obvious first thought, and knows a little on the nose. Also, just like if you had to like, Okay, we're gonna write a movie about the rich in a restaurant, right with this resentful chef. You're you're gonna write the first idea you have is what if they're cannibals, you know? And, and there is a little bit of that, like, foreshadowing when they walk you to the getting a tour. And there's like this meat curing shed or Yeah, or like much kind of meat is it? But it's not. It's not that. Yeah. And I'm glad it's not that
Sage:move. Right. that I feel like that would be too. Yeah, I
Ethan:mean, like the cannibal chefs on an island. Okay. Yes. Okay. Now, this is more interesting. It's more nuanced. And it's not like there's been something nefarious going on forever and ever. This is like, a shot deal. Yeah. Well, there is something that's been going on forever and ever, which is slowik has been a corruption of his Yeah, everyone, himself and everyone around him. Yeah, his art. He feels his art as a chef has been corrupted. He is joyless. He is, you know, hopeless peace. weigh literally suicidal and that has infected and corrupted not only his cooking but everybody around him really?
Sage:Yeah. Like his whole staff. Yeah. is willing to die
Ethan:with him. Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's definitely kind of a
Sage:cult. Yeah. Oh, no, for sure. You know, going I think that is kind of that starts at the very beginning because you know, he claps all the chefs stand at attention. Yeah. They say, you know, like, yes, Jeff and unison. Yeah, that's all very unsettling and cultish.
Ethan:To me. So but, but just bringing it back to our initial point, this is, is it a horror film? I think it is.
Sage:I would, yeah, I would call it. Yeah.
Ethan:I mean, there's there's some moments where you're like, yeah, they're horrific things that happen, but it's more of kind of a dance between his madness. And this, this girl who's been kind of captured or trapped in this situation? Yeah, almost accidentally. Yeah. Do you want to lay out kind of let's, let's explain more about that. I mean, I think hopefully, everybody listening to this episode, has seen the movie. I hope so. But Anya Taylor Joy's character, Margo? Yeah. Yeah. At first when you see her and Tyler, what do you think you? Yeah. So
Sage:at first, you think there are a couple kind of bickering a little bit? Yeah, that I think that's what really makes it seem like they're a couple is they have that level of comfort where they don't have to be super nice and formal to each other all the time. Right? Because of course, we've gone past Yeah, the first interaction you see is Tyler reprimanding Margo for smoking a cigarette because it'll like crush her palate or something like that. And so you like the first time you watch it, you're like, oh, there are a couple. The second time you watch it after you realize that Margo is an escort that he's hired. You realize that Tyler is kind of an asshole.
Ethan:Yeah, he wouldn't be anyhow. He would be like a bad boyfriend. Yeah. Just from the way he's treating her.
Sage:Yeah, but because he doesn't have that level of closeness with her. Like he just hired her.
Ethan:Yeah, he's really treating her like trash. Yeah.
Sage:Yeah. So, um, I think that's interesting. Again, firstly, you know, like watching things a second time through.
Ethan:Okay, let me let me just, yeah, no, no, I want to come in on that. That's interesting, because I'm just thinking in my head like, why is it he seems worse when at that that scene makes him seem much worse once you know that he's hired her as an escort. And I think it's because when you first meet somebody, you kind of are on your best behavior. Usually, well, yeah, definitely. You want that person to have a good impression of you? Yeah. And he's not even doing that. Although the reasons for like his mental his state of mind at that point is it takes a while to realize Yeah, and even having seen it twice, you know, I kind of like forgot. Yeah, he knows.
Sage:He knows. All alone happen. He knows that everyone is going to die because Chef slowik invited him months before telling him everyone is gonna die when they get to the island. Elsa, the restaurant manager? Yeah, the lady who gives a tour. She's a little confused about why Margo is there. Because what Yeah, who she is because the original guest some of the original? Yeah, I like Margo or no Tyler's ex girlfriend? I think so. Yeah. Something like that. And it's revealed that the reason he hired Margo is because Jeff slowik didn't offer seating for one. That's right. And that's when I think that's when Margaret slaps him, which I love that part. Yeah,
Ethan:well, this is after she finds that, you know, later on in the film, yes. She knows what's happening. Yeah, basically, they're all gonna die. And she's like, You knew this, you knew that we were all gonna die. Yeah. And she's also slowik. The chef, by the way, who's so let's, let's lay this out. You know, he is very much this cuisine chef in the style of Noma, the Danish restaurant, or what was the other one that's around here in Seattle in the Seattle and Washington State the willows? Yeah, right. These are both famous and infamous. You could even say notorious restaurants that are a cuisine. They're both high concept. And the Willis in particular has a lot of parallels with this the rest of with the Hawthorne, which is the restaurant movie, in that it is on an island, and in both Noma and Hawthorne locally, so Noma and the willows, both locally, source and the Willows recently closed. I think Noma and also recently closed, because the basically the chef was also he's notorious jerk, but he was like, this is unsustainable, this level of like, insane craft attention to detail just too much. The willows here in Washington State closed the one on the island that closed because it turns out they were lying about everything. And there was like, you know, sexual assault and harassment allegations left and right. They were lying about, you know, their claim that they locally sourced everything on the island that they're feeding their guests turned out not to be true, because it was just too great a volume of stuff and they couldn't do it and there's too much year round variation and variability because of climate. So yeah, so it turned out to be a complete fiction or or largely a fiction is so this is a very kind of toxic industry you're talking about. And this movie is definitely it plays on that. Although, again, what's interesting going back to our comment about Megan, this movie had to be in production before both of those restaurants closed.
Sage:Yeah. So it's really funny that yeah, they close after. Or at least I know, Noma closed after he came out. So
Ethan:yeah, that was the last straw. Yeah.
Sage:So someone on their side, yeah.
Ethan:Anyhow, I guess I was saying that slowik, the chef who runs this place, he's very much in that, in that vein of like the the absolute perfectionist, yet, you know, nobody's good enough.
Sage:And he realizes that he's kind of lost what he became a chef for and yeah, yeah, right. And Mario, Mario sees that. And in the end, when she stands up and claps to the another great moment, she tells him like, she says, like, you're single, you're a chef, you're single purpose on this earth is to make and serve food that people might actually enjoy it and you failed. Right, and, you know, she talks about how his food is loveless. And
Ethan:it was yeah, it was so hungry. Yeah, it was made with absolutely no love. Yeah. Right.
Sage:And it's great. Because she's saying all of like, she's externalizing, all of his fears, all these things that, like the reason that he's going to kill them all, is because of everything she's saying. Like he knows that what he's doing isn't what he set out to do originally, it's become kind of twisted and corrupted and and what has corrupted it. Money.
Ethan:Money, money. Yes. So that's a theme throughout the movie, right? Is that almost everybody that is killing, with one exception is the actor, which we'll come back to. But almost everybody does killing is sort of like this, like very well, the actors rich to yeah, there's there's money and power. And people who are all these people are people that he considers takers, right? Yeah, I think those are the terms you use gives givers and takers, givers or takers. And they're all takers. They don't. They take but they don't create. Yeah.
Sage:And so you know, so for Lillian, the critic, she just kind of wields her power as a critic, and she will make restaurants close with like one bad review. And then the couple the rich couple. I think Anna and Richard. Yes. They've been there to Hawthorn 11 times, I think in the past year. Yeah. Which is like crazy. Yeah. Like, you have to be super rich to do that. Yeah. So
Ethan:this is just to clarify, like $1,200, a plane minimum, yeah, reservations, years in advance, etc, etc.
Sage:And so slowik asks them to name a single meal or like a single course that they've had over the past 12 visits, they've had to author and they can't name a single one, do it. Because for them, it's not about food that they're eating. It's about the fact that they're eating it.
Ethan:The fact that they're eating there at that restaurant, that there they have exclusive access.
Sage:Yeah, exclusive. I think that's a really important word. Yeah, we were.
Ethan:So this is interesting, because I think you and I were talking about this a little bit earlier. And that is that there are some cultural experiences, which are kind of implicitly of the people for the people by the people. Yeah. That then over time, become bifurcated into like low and high and accessible and inaccessible, and become kind of signifiers of status. Yeah. And my you know, one of the examples I used the things like opera or Shakespeare, things that used to be very accessible to the common people to the hoi polloi. Right. And you would, you know, like, opera, you would find a very broad cross section of society. Going to see the opera, you would find very broad selection of cross section of society going to see Shakespeare plays at the Globe Theater, so, so broad that you would even have like, not just the cheap seats, but you'd have like the cheap no seats where people would see him dance. Yeah, they were called the under standards. Yeah, you know, now you think of Shakespeare It sounds very upper class. You know, opera sounds very upper class. Yeah. In here. You have this whole dining experience eating as something that is bifurcated into this like ultra inaccessible oat cuisine book years in advance. You know, high concept stuff. That just is, I mean, it's up in the clouds, you know, and it's not something that touches our lives or enhances or enriches our lives. And now you could claim as as is claimed in say, The Devil Wears Prada, that even movie Yeah, that haute couture high fashion, that stuff ends up kind of trickling down. That's right. Yeah. I don't believe that that's necessarily true with the whole cuisine experience, but maybe it is.
Sage:I think. I think there can be imitations of that.
Ethan:Now. You've been you've been to a fancy restaurant fairly recently.
Sage:I have. Yeah. I
Ethan:mean, I've had similar experiences, but we've never had one together. Yeah. You were in Penang, right? Yeah. When you have this meal? Yep. And I was trapped in a hotel in quarantine. Because I had COVID.
Sage:But it was like, the first time I'd ever been to like a really fancy restaurant, you know? And it was weird. Yeah, I'd never been to something like that. And it was like in the menu, like, there were a bunch of really tiny courses. Like, I could have eaten everything in a single bite. And I did almost accidentally, right. Yeah. And it was all just like, weird food. And, you know, maybe I'm not cultured, maybe my palate. No,
Ethan:but really, no, I push back on that, you know, it's,
Sage:I don't know, maybe I take my I don't know, if I see how something like that would be enjoyable on a regular basis.
Ethan:I think that it's interesting. It can be interesting and cool to say like, here is this, you know, we know you love peanut butter and jelly. Okay, so here's deconstructed peanut butter and jelly. It's a grape and we've, you know, we've taken it and we've blended it and then gelled it back into the shape of a grape. And here's peanuts that have been ground and then reconstituted, you know, like, whatever. Right? Yeah. And dusted with peanut powder. Like I've eaten stuff like this. Yeah. Okay. And it's, there's cleverness to it. Right? You're paying for a clever experience. Yeah, sure. Yeah, I
Sage:know, you're paying for the experience, not the food.
Ethan:For sure that it plays like Noma though, they really are trying to go out and like source local stuff. Right. That's kind of cool. And I think that that can trickle down that the local, right? I don't know, it doesn't seem sustainable. Or like, I also like, man, give me like a big bowl of some risotto or something partway through.
Sage:Yeah. No, I needed like, I, I kept being like, when is the main thing?
Ethan:You had it already? Two courses? Yeah. Oops,
Sage:I missed, like what?
Ethan:I will say, and I don't want to give too many details about that place, because I don't want to totally trash Yeah, but I had some. So at the end of the night, much like in the menu, they give you a takeaway bag. Yeah. And you take it away. And it's, you know, has some of their signature pieces in it. You guys brought that back to me, because I was stuck in the hotel all alone, eating nothing, but like, coffee and noodles, which I love. But you brought that to me. And it was like the most disappointing. Take away back. I
Sage:remember what it was. Yeah, I
Ethan:can't. But I don't want to say because it'll give it away the name of the restaurant. But it was I was I was less than impressed. I've had kind of mixed experiences. Yeah. I mean, I was saying before, I'm
Sage:like, I appreciate that experience. I appreciate that. I was able to have that. Like, absolutely. I don't know if I would choose myself to go back to something like that. But
Ethan:he is doing that kind of cooking more rewarding than doing just regular good. I don't know, because I'm not a chef. But I have to wonder. It's certainly it gets you more attention in certain magazines gets you prizes. But does it satisfy you?
Sage:Do you know that the people you're serving are really, like genuinely loving the food? And this is another part?
Ethan:Is it the you know, I think a lot of times it's emperor's new clothes because people are like so afraid to like not know, listen, this everybody enjoys just paid to enjoy it.
Sage:This is something that I was thinking about is everyone in the menu. They are making themselves like the food. Yes. Because that's what they're supposed to do. They're supposed to be enjoying this fancy expensive food that they paid to be there for. And I think it's really apparent in the second quarters, which is the bread list bread plate. It's just an empty plate with like a few little dots of like,
Ethan:yes, it's literally the emperor has no bread. Yeah, right.
Sage:And they're all being served in there. Like this is a joke, right? And it's at the moment you're like they're not really happy with like what they're getting. Yeah, but they have to
Ethan:be because you kind of hear them slowly talk themselves into loving Yeah, yeah. They're like,
Sage:like, Oh, this is genius. You know, he's always he's so aware of the relationship of food and economics and like, like you want bread
Ethan:Yeah, and now and then of course, you know, like the later on the the finance bros who are reprehensible and we don't feel sad at all that they perish. They they asked for bread but they do it in a way, which is about wielding power. Right. Right. And Margo also is like a dissatisfied. But for her it's not about power. It's about just expecting to receive decent service. Yeah, it's like you're the costume you
Sage:in desire for getting what you paid for, which is good food.
Ethan:Yeah. She's like, you're the customer? Of course you can ask. Yeah. Right. And you don't know it at that point. But when you find out later on that she's an escort you're like, okay, and you know, like, and he talks, you know, slower. The chef. And Margot have a conversation at one point. Yeah. Where they talk about he talks about being a service provider.
Sage:Yeah, he's like I can, I can tell you're like a service worker, because I am as well. I think he asks her like, do you enjoy providing your services? And she says, I used to Right. Exactly like him, right? Yeah, exactly. Like him. You know, something changed along the way from when both of them started offering their services to when like to where they are now. Yeah. And neither of them are happy anymore there's something I wanted to mention right back to the bread this bread thing. When the like finance bros. are asking the Ask Elsa for bread. They like call her over.
Ethan:Yes. Play by Hong Chow. Yeah, amazing. I love her. Oh, good. Yeah, yeah. Have you seen the poker face episode with her? Yeah, right. Okay.
Sage:So such like two different roles, like so different.
Ethan:She was also in Watchmen, which I don't think you've seen that TV show. Were totally worth seeing that that series. But yeah,
Sage:I think I think she's really good in the movie, like, very unsettling one of the best characters, in my opinion. But they call her over and ask for bread. And she says, No. And they clearly were not expecting that. They clearly have never heard that word in their lives, right? And they're like, huh, she's like I said, No. And, you know, it goes back and forth for a little while. And then she leans down and whispers in one of their ears, you will eat less than you desire and more than you deserve. And if I had to choose a single quote from the entire film, to sum it up, I would choose that quote, and just to sum up wealthy people in general. Yes, they want. So
Ethan:McGinnis Subtitle This, by the way are eat the rich episode.
Sage:All right. Elon Musk,
Ethan:let's kind of Sure. Yes. The poster child for Yeah, it was, well,
Sage:you know, he bought Twitter. Why did you buy Twitter? Because he wanted it? Yeah. Was it smart? Absolutely not. Is it capable of running it clearly? See floundering? Yes. But he bought it because he wanted it because he always wants more. Yeah. And he got it because he has the means to access it. Yes.
Ethan:This is a good example of why people shouldn't have that much
Sage:money. Does he deserve all that money? No. Does he desire it? And more? Yes. And it's so frustrating because the people who are always, like wanting for more and more and more are the people who already have everything.
Ethan:And so let's go let's talk about that, in the context of this film for a second. slowik has made a kind of a devil's bargain with a financier
Sage:and Varick dog, Varick angel investors.
Ethan:That's right, his angel investor. That's, that's the whole time. And, you know, you slug is a monster in this movie. But he is a monster that you feel sympathy for more than once in the film. The reason I guess I feel sympathy for him occasionally in the film is because he is self aware. And he's aware of, you know, being a monster. Yeah, right. He's the monster who knows he's a monster. And he regrets it. Unfortunately, the way that he seeks absolution and a return to humanity has by killing himself in his staff, mind you, everybody, apparently does this volitionally. But that's clearly, you know, everybody's off their rocker in this film. So, but he a couple of times, the film was really rooting for him. And I have to admit, like, at one point, you know, the finance bros are all up in arms. And he has revealed to them that he knows that they are like embezzling and that they are that they are up to no good to. And then he's like, okay, let's, we're gonna preserve the next course, which is fallen angel. And it's Doug Varrick, the angel investor, suspended outside on a crane of some sort, which you don't really see it's going to off screen. At this point. It's nighttime, it's full dark, and you just see him illuminated by like a spotlight up in the air slowly.
Sage:He has these huge angel wings.
Ethan:It's so there's some really funny moments like that. It's very comedic. Yeah. Yeah, there's lots of lots of humor. Mostly mostly dark but of humor. And
Sage:they like slowly lower him into the water and he drowns. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, it's crazy.
Ethan:Yeah. And then and he and everybody's horrified and slow because
Sage:like, because three Yeah, because the finance bros actually work for Doug Beric
Ethan:That's right. And at one point, they tried to wield their power by saying, you know, who we work with. Right? Yeah. And she says, No, you work for him. Yeah. She's very aware of the relationship, the power relationship there, right?
Sage:Because, actually, I think the the whole story is that slowik relinquished ownership of the restaurant to Doug Varrick to stay afloat during that pandemic, and took advantage of it. Yeah. So that's why he drowns. I see, John,
Ethan:the whole premise is horrific. But you know, the other interesting thing, okay, so slugs, madness, this descent into madness is orchestrated very carefully as a menu. You know, the first courses are odd, but not disturbing. It gets bad when he brings out his sous chef, as we mentioned in the summary, and his sous chef kills himself in front of everybody. Yeah. But even then, you kind of think, you know, they're, they're still telling themselves, it's just part of an act. It's just
Sage:like the critic. She goes, like, this is acting. It's a show. It's, this is what he does. Yeah. It's so crazy. But you see how they delude themselves. But
Ethan:even even at the end, there are many opportunities. And he even mentions this, he says, like, you know, when they think they're about to be rescued by a Coast Guard officer, who turns out to not be Coast Guard turns out to be shot, right or shattering. Yes. He said, he's warning them. He's like, don't do anything. And also ask yourself, yeah, why didn't you do it? Yes. Hold night. Why didn't you raise
Sage:it? Like, you probably could have taken us? Yeah, yeah. And it's a really good question to ask like, and it's like, Why do you think? Well, it's like, the herd mentality. And also, I think there's something there's a part of them that knows that. Maybe they deserve a little bit at this, especially at the very end. Yeah. Especially in an the wealthy couple. Like, it's Richard and Anne. Yeah. When Margo is leaving the restaurant and kind of shoes her along. Yeah, she's
Ethan:like, leave take, you know, while you can.
Sage:She knows. Yeah. And they all know, I think,
Ethan:I think also, there's a deep need to participate. Yeah, that they all have. It's like,
Sage:this is the menu that keeps me like, this is the menu. This is the menu.
Ethan:It's all it's all consensual. Yeah. Right. Like the that that toxic industry doesn't exist without consensual participation by the ultra wealthy. Yeah. And the ultra wealthy derive something from it, which is exclusivity, right? They, it means something to them, because it can't mean anything to anybody else, because nobody else can access. Exactly. And so they they have to participate. Because if they don't participate, then it doesn't have any meaning.
Sage:Exactly. Yeah. Another thing that kind of occurred to me after I watched the movie, is that the way she escapes by asking for her burger to go I love is so much. It's a share is odd moment.
Ethan:Yes. You mentioned this to me and a blew my mind. Lay it out. Okay, so,
Sage:if you haven't heard the story of Sahara Zod, it's like an old myth or legend or something.
Ethan:What is it? I would say? It's a folk tale. That was Yeah, but yeah, it's so it's the 1001 nights or the Arabian Nights, right.
Sage:And so the story goes. Now this is a little rough, because I haven't heard it in a while. But this is what I remember. I read it to you. And yeah, the story goes that I read it to you. There's this king and every woman that he marries, he kills that night, or like the day or the day after whatever. Yeah, and he just keeps marrying woman and killing them and marrying women and killing them. Yeah. And then one day, there's this one lady. She hair is odd. Yeah, she's like, I'm gonna stop this. I'm gonna stop him from killing woman. Yeah, it's like horrible. But she she's gonna stop him.
Ethan:Can you imagine this is also the premise of like, children's?
Sage:Yeah, it's
Ethan:they, those they went pretty hard stories hundreds of years ago.
Sage:But yeah, so it's, um, what she does, yeah, is she marries him. And that night, she starts to tell him a story. And it's so gripping. That he promises her one more day to finish the story. She's like, well, you can't kill me because you'll never know what happens. Yeah. And he's like, okay. And he gives her another day. Yeah. She continues the story. And again, leaves it on a cliffhanger right over and over and over again every single night. She tells him a little more of the story, and promises another day and that's how she It's an to stop.
Ethan:Yeah. Eventually. Eventually he comes to his senses.
Sage:Yeah, yeah. And that, I don't know why
Ethan:after like, 1000 I was he was like, Hey, girls pretty cool.
Sage:Yeah. So that's what that reminded me of. Yes. Like a little loophole a way for her to
Ethan:Yeah, yeah. No, no, I totally agree. I feel like she kind of she found like the backdoor and it was psyche. A little. Yeah. Right. Actually, almost literally the backdoor.
Sage:Because when she's in his house, which, by the way, is an exact replica of the restaurant. She breaks into his house. I was so curious to see what it was like. It's just the restaurant with a bed in the corner. Yeah, it's, it's truly terrifying.
Ethan:Which also makes you realize, it's, it's terrifying. Why is it terrifying?
Sage:His life is his art. And he's not happy with his art.
Ethan:Yeah. Yes. And there's no escape for him. Has he been his refuge? Yes. He's just, it's just more rest
Sage:misery. Yeah. But so she goes into this little back room. And that's where she finds the shortwave radio. But that's also where she finds a series of photographs from his life. And one of them is him as like a teenager as a fry, cook, the fry cook looking genuinely happy flipping burgers. Yeah, yep. And that's kind of that for me. I saw that. And that was like a little moment of realization for me. And when she said she was hungry, I knew I was like, Oh, she's gonna ask her burger. And it's great. Because it like gets at his deep, like core memories of what I love. Yeah. When he loved what he did, yeah. And the montage of him making the burger the music is II thorough, and like beautiful. And you know, he's happy. Yeah. for like the last time ever, but
Ethan:it's a really, he's he really almost sounds like a different person. He has a different tone in his voice and
Sage:it's really moving.
Ethan:That's really a beautifully written scene. I think, first of all super impressed with her performance, and I think she and Nicholas Hoult. Yeah, they're just so well cast together. Yeah, I love it. But they do so well. Together. Yeah. So many little nuances.
Sage:Yeah. Just you can tell like there's like tension between them. Yeah. And
Ethan:like Nicolas whole, like through the whole movie, like, at first, he seems like a jerk, but normal. And then slowly. He is so easy to hate. Yeah. And he also just gets like, you're like, he's he's gone completely around the bend. He's like stuffing his face with food. He's like, grabbing her plate. He's just like, just like this bottomless black hole was paid like black hole that just wants to consume all this like food. Yeah.
Sage:And he would not enjoy it. No, yeah. And he's like, Well, the raw witches fingers being cut off. I think he's like, very nonchalant. Well, like, oh, yeah, the guy killed himself. And you know, every through all of this. He's just, like, fine. And it makes a little more sense when you see it the second time and know that he knows he's known.
Ethan:He's really kind of dissociated. Yeah, that's exactly
Sage:it. It's like, it's really unsettling. And you can tell he's the most, like resigned and accepting is fate. Out of all of them, maybe even out of like, the staff as well. Yeah. Eager. He's totally he's eager to die.
Ethan:Yeah. But so so just to bring it back to Anya Taylor joy is Margo. Yeah. At the so throughout the film, she knows herself, right. She's very self aware. She is also very aware of like, what her boundaries are, yeah, what she will accept and what she won't, right. Especially this is like a second viewing kind of thing. But like, you really know, like, she's like, even I am an escort. But I, you know, I value myself, I have self respect. Even if she doesn't love what she does, right? At this point. She's lost the love of it, and the enjoyment of it, she still is very self possessed. That is what slowik runs straight headfirst into, and he confronts her at one point during the film, he's like, you know, several times actually confronts her, like, he actually goes into the bathroom, when she's having a cigarette. He calls her into his office into the kitchen, and it was office like he's constantly like, trying to figure out what to do with this person who doesn't fit because she's self possessed. Because she approaches food a totally different way. She just does not. She's not complicit. Yeah. So he does this thing, as you mentioned there the whole movie, which is the clap, and that clap is like his signal for everybody to shut up and listen to him. In a moment. He claps all the other sous chefs and all the other chefs in the kitchen there. They'll stop what they're doing. They turn they face him. All the patrons stop and Turn on the face him. It's like a gunshot. Yeah, I just love that moment where she claps Yes. Because it's literally like, onscreen. She has taken his power away, or she's she has acquired his power. Yeah. You know,
Sage:exactly. He's like she's kind of risen to his level. And that's really surprising to him. Yeah. Because like, it's like, anyone can clap. Yeah, but no one chose anybody
Ethan:could have at any moment, right? Anybody could have asserted themselves. But instead of asserting themselves, they subject themselves to him, because that is part of the experience. And the irony of all that is despite subjecting themselves to the chef into the cuisine, they think themselves above it all too. Yeah, right. It's a weird relationship.
Sage:Yeah, like, Tyler is very dismissive of any of the chefs that aren't slowik. Yeah, like, at one point, he's talking to one of the chefs. And I think Margo goes, like, aren't you gonna ask his name? And I was like, Oh, whatever. It doesn't matter. Because he doesn't really think of any of them as chefs, except for slower the whole time. He's very rude to everyone except for slowik. Yeah, and there's this really great scene. Okay. So what happens is, the tacos come out with all the images laser printed onto them for Tyler the image. It's just a picture of him taking a picture of the food like earlier on in the evening, because they say like, no pictures ways. And he immediately pulls out her phone, takes pictures. And she's like, they can't do that. Send it back. And she's like, he tells her like, you don't send food back. And he says that he she's being like, childish. Yeah. And he's just Yes, sir. He's been very rude to her. And she says, like, you can't speak to me that way. You have to apologize to me right now. And he says, No, I don't because I'm paying.
Ethan:Right. And at that point, of course, he still thinks because he's paying for the meal. Yeah. I didn't realize he thinks he's just paying. He's paying for her.
Sage:Yeah. And so that's when she gets up and leaves to go to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette, and then she has that encounter with slowik.
Ethan:So let's see, what were we talking about? We're talking about the end of the movie where she kind of acquires his power and great scene of the end where she motorboats out into the bay. Like watches the place burn while she's eating a cheeseburger. I really wiping her face with a menu.
Sage:The menu. Great. Yeah, like that's like the last scene is her like using the menu as a napkin? Yeah. Also, that cheeseburger looks so good.
Ethan:It does look real good. It's somebody who hasn't had a cheeseburger for two months. Let me tell you.
Sage:Yeah, that was that a vegan thing working out?
Ethan:Well, that's unforced veganism. Unfortunately, it's working very well.
Sage:But yeah, I think overall, I really liked this movie. Yeah. If somehow you want you listened to this episode without watching it yet. I advise you to still go. Absolutely. There was a lot that's in it that we didn't talk about. Just because there's so much there's no way because
Ethan:there's several moments where I you know, there are moments where I gasped, where I laughed, where I Reilly smiled and smirked and chuckled. I, you know, has it I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed this film. And, you know, I Okay, let me can I offer criticism or two. So there were definitely moments in this movie where I felt like it kind of papered over a little bit of a suspension of disbelief that was required, like, you know, there's the there's a kind of a mock hunt at one point where they hunt all the men, and they bring them back. They're like, you can escape if you want, but we're gonna run you down. Right, we're gonna chase after you. And I kind of felt like that was it too neatly handled? It was it was really easy to bring all the men back and a couple other moments where I felt like maybe people would have put up a little bit more resistance. But if you're, at the same time, I didn't have a problem getting past those moments in the payoff or getting past was very big. Yeah. So no, I enjoyed it a lot. It was it was dramatic. It was there were over the top moments that were great. And it also felt very much like a stage play to me. Right?
Sage:Because it's most of it is in one room. Yeah. And actually, I think you send this to me Mark, my lord, the director got a lot of inspiration from parasite in that regard. And that's when it clicked for me that the big window in the restaurant. That's like it's facing the sea the water. Yeah, that reminds me of the window and parasite in the rich family's home. The huge window that like sticks to the entire wall. That's exactly what it reminds me of.
Ethan:Alright, thanks, everybody for joining us. That was pretty much wraps up our discussion section. Yep.
Sage:Thanks for joining us on this episode of the teen horror cast. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at teen horror cast where we'd love to hear from you.
Ethan:We're also on Mastodon now, so if you'd like to find us there we're at teen horror Her app Mastodon social
Sage:Yep, let us know what films you'd like to hear us review. See you next episode.
Ethan:See you then. Bye bye Wait I'm not getting paid $0 Can you just imagine what you just told me the cheque was? Also what how come if we live together how can we mail the check to me? It's comes for tax reasons.
Sage:Yes, yeah. Okay.